So where exactly does a 10,000 calorie meal at the Heart Attack Cafe fit into the larger picture of Michelin 3 Star restaurants? Well, it doesn’t really. But some of the best meals and most memorable experiences I’ve had have been at non-Michelin 3 Star restaurants. In fact, they aren’t rated by Michelin at all, or Zagat, Relais & Chateaux, etc.

No jackets & ties. No reservations months ahead. No stuffiness. No huge dent in your wallet. Just good old fashioned food off the streets. From hairy crab roe in Hakodate and gyros in Santorini, to goat brains in Marrakech and langoustines in la Bretagne, street food can be AMAZING. Yes, sometimes it’s a bit unsanitary, and yes, sometimes you find yourself running to the toilet over and over again afterwards, and yes, sometimes you end up in the hospital because of food poisoning, but you know what? It’s worth it…sometimes.

The 10,000 calorie meal I recently had at the Orange County Fair in Southern California doesn’t fall into one of the best meals I’ve ever had, nor one of the most pleasant, but it was definitely an artery-clogging-Man-v.-Food experience that I am still trying to burn off at the gym. Heart Attack Cafe pretty much says it all.

The deep-fried butter was a lot better than I thought it’d be (basically a stick of butter stuffed into a churros, sealed, deep-fried, and topped with whipped cream). The chocolate covered bacon was pleasantly edible–the play of sweet and savory along with the cold chocolate and crispy bacon textures worked for me. The Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich, well, oddly, not bad either.

My personal favourite out of everything was the Mexican funnel cake. Perfectly fried, not really greasy, crunchy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside. AWESOME. Better than any ordinary funnel cake I’ve ever had. Now that I’ve gone Mexican funnel cake, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back.

My total cost was probably comparable to what you’d pay at a Michelin 1 Star, but the experience was far more memorable…so memorable that the calories from that day still are with me now. Eitherway, enjoy the pictures below.

Off to Michelin 3 Star Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas tmrw. Stay tuned!

About 3starbackpacker

I'm just an average guy who loves to eat and travel. I backpacked to every 2007 Michelin 3 Star in the world in less than 12 months, have over 350 stars under my belt, and have eaten (and drunken) my way through over 70 countries downing anything and everything that looked vaguely interesting.